Entanglement in debris like fishing line or ingestion of plastic pieces can severely injure or kill turtles.Coastal development along Hawaii’s coastline threatens to reduce the amount of suitable beach area for turtle nesting and basking.Not only do sea turtle hatchlings face a number of threats both on land in the water, but juvenile and adult turtles must contend a number of challenges including: Still, Hawaii’s sea turtles, like many sea turtle populations around the world, continue to face a number of threats. Hawaii’s hawksbill population has not fared as well and continues to remain a critically endangered species. Once considered in real danger of extinction, Hawaiian green sea turtles have seen a dramatic increase in the population under the protection of the U.S. In fact, scientists estimate that only 1 out of every 5,000 hatchlings will reach adulthood. Once in the ocean, they face a whole new host of challenges, including fish, sharks, and humans. Before even reaching the water’s edge, hatchlings are easy prey for sea birds, crabs, rats, cats, dogs, and mongoose. Baby sea turtles, known as “hatchlings”, typically emerge from the nest at night to make their way to the ocean. Once eggs are laid, they will incubate in the sand for about 60 days before hatching. Sea turtles are expert navigators and often migrate thousands of miles between feeding grounds and nesting beaches.Įvery sea turtle starts out as a small egg, about the size of a ping pong ball. Females come ashore to lay their eggs, and some turtle species will also bask on the coastline. As marine reptiles, sea turtles spend the majority of their lives in ocean. Sea turtles have been around for more than 150 million years, long enough to watch dinosaurs evolve and go extinct. If you are lucky enough to see a hawksbill, you can contribute your photograph to You’ll learn all about the history of the individual you saw, or you can name it if it’s a new individual to this research project! Keep in mind, though, that 99.99% of the sea turtles that you’ll see while snorkeling or diving on Maui will be green sea turtles. Hawksbill have 2 claws on each front flipper, whereas green sea turtles only have 1 claw on each flipper.Green sea turtles do not have overlapping scales, and carapace edges are smooth. The scales overlap on hawksbills, and the edges of their carapace are serrated. The carapace (or shell) of greens and hawksbills also differ.Hawksbills have 2 pairs of prefrontal scales (for a total of 4 scales), while green sea turtles only have 1 pair. Still looking at a sea turtle’s head, count the number of scales that are between the sea turtle’s eyes.Hawksbills have a smaller head than green sea turtles, and their jaws are more pointed and beaklike. The first clue is the turtle’s jaw and head.There are, however, a few insider ways to tell the difference between the two. To an untrained eye, hawksbill and green sea turtles can look very similar.
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Now that you know how to view the turtles, read on to learn more interesting facts about sea turtles in Maui. If you remain calm and respect a sea turtle’s space, you might just be rewarded with the turtle sticking around. A sea turtle could feel too scared to come to the surface to breathe and eventually drown. Since sea turtles must come up to the surface of the water for air, it is important not to hover over them for long periods of time. Violators can be fined up to $100,000 per violation and receive jail time for interference with the turtle population. Harassing sea turtles in any way is illegal in the state of Hawaii. When swimming with sea turtles in Maui, remember to keep your arms at your side and remain at least 15 feet from turtles and look don’t touch. Sea turtles usually come up to the surface to breath, and can also be found on Hawaii beaches basking and resting. Sounds cute, but the turtle cleaning station is actually an area where sea turtles seek out fish who eat the algae off their shells.
While snorkeling in Maui, you can often spot green sea turtles lying on the ocean floor, eating algae, or visiting their local ‘turtle cleaning station’. The first time people hear the term ‘cleaning station’ they envision a little car wash with turtles lined up to cruise through. While marine species are often unpredictable, turtle sightings are nearly guaranteed during tours at our South Maui Turtle Town location.
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